Cigarette-machine.



S. RAGONA.

CIGARETTEMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED oc -Q'. 190a.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

3 SHBETS-SHBBT 1.

m f. H V m HE NORRIS PETERS C0,; PHOTC'LITHO" WASHINGTDALJI. C

S. RAGONA.

CIGARETTE MACHINE. APPLlCATiON FILED ocT. 9. I908.

Patented .Apr. 6, 1915.

3 SHBETS-SHEET 2.

[n entor: O5 Z LY-Um Attyr THE NORRIS PETERS CQ, PHOT -H17 0" WASHINGTON. D. C

S. R AGONA.

.CIGARETTE MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 001,9, 190s.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915 a SHEETS-SHEET THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTO'LITHO, WAHINGTDN, D C.

siirvanonmeoitn, oFivitwYoBK; N. Y.

' GIGARETTE-MAKCZHINE.

Specificationof Letters Patent.

I ApplicationfiledOctoberS;1902i; seria1-1\ib;45e,s5a-

To all whom it may concern V Be it knownthat I, SALVADOR'RAGONA, a.

. citizen of the United States, residing in the" borough of Manhattan, in the. city, vcounty, and. State ofNew York, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements (gig: arette-Machines, of which the following. is a specification, reference being had to, the ac: companying drawings, which form. apart thereof. My inventionrelates to cigarette mach nes,

and more particularly to a: type thereof pat.-

ented to me inand by Letters-Ratentof the United States No. 869,394, vof October-.29, 1907, for placing tips of cork, or other sim lar material, on cigarettes to, form the mouth-v piece therefor. Iinthe operation of the ma.- chine described in said Letters-Patent, I,

have found the number of seconds 'is in-l creased by reasonof theinability of. the un= I skilled operator to adjust andarrange c g; arettes upon the conveyer belt Wlthlfl rap dity commensurate with. the speed; of, Opera}. tion of the machine, this liinitationresulting', in some instances, in the failure tokeep constantly with cigarettes, orthe delivery of cigarettes to said chute,.at an.angle,.thus resulting in the mutilation ofthe clgarette. by the pusher-rod. This not; only destroyed the cigarette, but; clogged "the. holder and scattered particles of'tobacco upon the wrap-- ping mechanism to anextent to requ1re an occasional stoppage-of the machlne for the purpose of cleaning the holder: and the chute and cleaning the mechanism. I have also found that through the irregularities .of the packing of the cigarette-ropethe'flexible. wiper, in some instances, 1n case-the, cigarette. is large andrhard, breaks the end of the.

cigarette slightly; or in case the cigarette is" small and loosely packed, the. end .of the tip ping material will-notbe caused to adhere thereto and thewithdrawal of the tipeoarrier. would fail to measure out the proper length. of strip,.thus failing to cover the entireend. of the cigarette.. I have also found that,. through the absence ofacollectingmechanism, additional labor is requlredto operate the machine, and an unnecessary handling, of. the cigarette is occasioned. In addition to these difhculties imposed by the limitationsof unskilled labor, I have found that; owing to the irregularity in the lengths oflthe. cigarette produced on the ordinary cigarette. machine, the extent of projection. of successive cigarettes. from the holder varies, thus caus ng the location. ofthe: mouth-piece to 'f vary; slightly in a small percentage ofzciga-i;

rettestipped. I

The main object of my present invention ls'to improve themac hine set forth in'my said Letters Patent' by such a variance in themechanism and the. addition of such elea mentsas willyobviate these difficulties, above Patentediiapr. 6,1915. I a

specified, and. thus increase the'eflicienoy of the machine by reducing. to a minimum the;

attention required to operate same, and reducing thenumber of secondsthrough breakage-or the improper wrappingofthe mouthpiecestrip abouttheend of the cigarette.

A. further object. of the invention is toprovide a conveyer belt by means of which'ciga rettes will be automatically fed relative to the holder adjacent to the-wrapping. mecha nism and hold the cigarette,While retained on the. said conveyen belt, in alinementwith the said. holder, so as to permiteach cigarette to be ejecteddireetl-y from the conveyer belt tothe'said holder, thus eliminating the receivingchute and' the breakage. of. cigathe chute alined with the holder. supplied rettes resulting from the use of such.

,A still furtherobject is. to. provide, ina the remaining mechanism.

A'till further object is to provide, in. a machine of this character; a conveying-belt wherein. thecigarettes will be accurately positionediand held inthe proper position to be ejected directly from the belt to thecigar ette holder, and yet permit.saidoigarettesito be individually turned so that-they. maybe de-- liveredto theholder if desired, in a position? whereby the seam onaeach-cigarettea-and-of' the cork tip will-becoincident. I

A still -further object is to provide cigarette machine of this character, collecting. mechanismv which will receive the. completed, product oflthe' machine and de liver. it to. a collecting belt in such a position as to havethe cigarette drop directly uponsaid belt-in' a manner to avoidthat skewing of the cigarette which would result were'o ne endlof. thecigaretteto contact with said .beltw prior to the other; A

A still further. object isto'p-rovide in a collecting mechanism of this character .areceiving device, which will true up each cigarette as it is delivered thereto and automatically deposit it in the desired position upon a collecting belt.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a member, the operation of which is synchronized with that of the wiper, which will engage the side of the cigarette opposite to that upon which the wiper is used, and hold the cigarette perfectly rigid while the free end of the strip is being applied thereto; thus preventing the breaking of the cigarette, or such a give thereto as would result in the failure of the wiper to cause the strip end to adhere to the cigarette.

A still further object is to provide, in a machine of this character, a member which will simultaneously hold the strip against a backward movement and release the fingers carried by the strip carrier so that under all conditions the length of the severed portion of the strip will be the same.

A still further object is to provide a simplified mechanism to prevent the piling of cigarettes adjacent to the outlet of the hopper.

A still further object of the invention is r toprovide a machine of this character wherein the cigarettes will be fed from a hopper having a movable bottom and a mechanism adapted to receive cigarettes from said movable bottom, true them up and deposit them upon a conveyor-belt in the proper position to be fed relative to the holder. 1

A still further object is to provide a machine embodying a holder to which the cigarettes are fed one at a time'with one end projecting therefrom wherein each cigarette, irrespective of a variance in the length of difi erent cigarettes, will be automatically positioned in said holder with the end projecting therefrom to a uniform predetermined extent.

A still further object is to provide, in a machine of this character, a mechanism for adjusting the cigarette to the holder, as above described, the operation of which will be synchronized with that of the remaining mechanism in a manner to cause it to be out of the way of said mechanism during the wrapping operation, and operative at a time when the cigarette is loosely held in the holder.

A still further object is to provide a mechanism of this character adapted to accomplish such an adjustment of the cigarette without'imparting thereto such momentum as would tend to restore the cigarette to the holder to an extent greater than desired. And astill further object of the invention is toprovide, in a machine of the character described in my said Letters-Patent, such additions and improvements as will render the same more nearly automatic and minimize the loss through breakage, or otherwise, at tendant upon the employment of unskilled labor.

The invention consists in the novel features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of the machine giving an end elevation of the wrapping and collecting mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detailed view in section of the hopper and cigarette delivery mechanism appurtenant thereto, and of the main conveyer mechanism. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed view of the strip feeding mechanism; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the cigarette readjusting mechanism; and Fig. 7 is a modified form of vane wheel.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

Inasmuch as my invention relates more particularly to improvements in the machine described in the Letters-Patent heretofore referred to, a detailed description of said machine and its mode of operation will not be entered into except in those respects wherein the improvement resides, reference being had to said Letters-Patent to more fully explain the detailed construction and mode of operation of the remaining mechanisms shown.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown at A the cigarette hopper, at B the holder in which the cigarettes are held while having the ends thereof tipped, at C a pusher-rod and its actuating mechanism, D the reel for the web, at E the shears and their actuating mechanism, at F the actuating mechanism for the strip feeding mechanism, at G the paste feeding and spreading mechanism, and at H the oscillating wiper and its mechanism.

To simplify the description, the mechanisms will be considered with relation to the progress of the cigarettes through the ma chine; and will, therefore, be divided into the hopper mechanism adapted to receive and store cigarettes and deliver to the next mechanism, which would be the conveying belt and holder mechanism. The nextmechanism to be considered will be the transfer mechanism by means of which the cigarettes position.

depth, and is of a width substantially equaling the length of a cigarette. The bottom of this hopper is closed by an ordinary conveyer-belt 1, running around the pulleys 22, which conveyor is driven by the enchained gears 3. Mounted adjacent to the front end of the said hopper is an oscillating lifting-plate 4, extending to a point distant from the said conveyer-belt about the width of a cigarette; and obstructing the passage from said hopper beyond said lifting-belt 4; is a wheel having a plurality of curved vanes 5, spaced away from the belt 1 sufiiciently to allow an oval cigarette to pass thereunder at its smallest dimension, and a delivery mechanism consisting of a cylinder 6 having a plurality of peripheral pockets adapted to receive a cigarette and a weighted flap 7, adapted to hold cigarettes in said pockets until they are accurately positioned so as to be delivered from said pockets to the conveying-belt in the proper Iprovide a supplemental flap 8 to position the cigarettes properly in the pockets of thecylinder 6. The function of the vanes 5 is to turn the cigarettes, in case they are delivered by the belt 1 in the wrong position. I provide this delivery mechanism in order thatno cigarettes will be broken or mutilated in passing from the hopper, and also to insure a regular, timely feeding of the cigarettes and their accurate positioning on the mainconveyer-belt The gear 9 actuating the cylinder 6 is driven from the last of the enchained gears 3 by the gear 10, and, to synchronize the action of this delivery mechanism with that of the main conveyer-belt, I key the first gear of the enchained gears 3 on the shaft ofone of the pulleys of said main conveyer-belt. It will thus be observed that cigarettes will be delivered from the hopper A only when the main conveyer-belt is in operation and that the intervals of the delivery of said cigarettes will be gaged with relation to the lineal travel of said belt and will be intermittent, in order to place the cigarettes upon said main belt at the proper time and in the proper position.

Arranged in a plane immediately below the hopper A are parallel rollers 10 and 11, one of which, 10, is adjacent to said hopper and the other of which, 11, is ad jacent to the holder B, so that a conveyerbelt passing around said rollers will be alined with. one side of said holder. Mounted upon said rollers is anendless conveyerbelt 12, the face of which isprovided with a plurality of partition'blocks 13, dividing it into a plurality of similar equi-distant' compartments adapted to receive cigarettes between them. The distance between these partition blocks 13 is substantially the width of the cigarettes to be tipped, only suflicient clearance being allowedto compensate for the variance in the size of different cigarettes, due to the irregularities in the rope. The blocks 18 extend into close juxtaposition to the flap 7, so that in case a cigarette should be dropped thereon, it would be pushed by said flap into the-next compartment and rolled over fiatwise. Adj acent to the roller 11 and spaced away therefrom a distance substantially equaling the height of the blocks l3 is a plate l t, the function of which is topreve'nt'the escapefor' the rolling movement of" the cigarettes in the compartments betweenthe blocks 13, as said blocks are positioned to bring each compartment successively .in alinement with the holder B. H v

The detailed construction of the holder B i is immaterial to this invention, that shown 7 being the same as in my said patent wherein the holderB, and, as itwas necessary, to

secure the highestefiiciency, to always have said hopper filled, carelessness on the part of the operator might res'ult in a condition where the chute would empty and cigarettes would be. delivered thereto from the con veyer-belt after the pusher-rod had re-.

ceived its initial movement, thus causing the rod to mutilate the cigarettes. Inasmuch as the construction of the conveyerbelt 12, heretofore described, is designed, primarily, to eliminate this chute and cause a timely, uniform feeding of the cigarettes relative to the operation of said pusher-rod, it is necessary to feed this belt forward by an intermittent movement having an interval of rest during which the pusher-rod will be actuated and the cigarette ejected from the compartment between the blocks 13, and delivered directly to the holder 13. To accomplish this intermittent movement, Iprovide the shaft of the pulley 10 with a ratchet-wheel 15, which wheel is adapted .to be intermittently rotated by means of a pawl 16, carried by a lever 17 having a forked end straddling the main shaft of the machine and carrying a. roller 18 adapted to be engaged by a rise 19 on the cam B, the 7 location of said rise 19 on-said cam being] such that the feeding interval of the belt, 12.

a plurality of compartments formed thereon will be intermittently fed a distance equaling that between the centers of sueceeding compartments, while the pusherrod is held stationary and said belt will be brought to rest and said pusher-rod simultaneously actuated to eject a cigarette therefrom to the holder preparatory to the actuation of the wrapping mechanism.

In cigarette machines utilizing an endless filler, there is always likelihood of a variance in the lengths of the different cigarettes, whichis, for all practical purposes, immaterial, but which, when the tip is ap plied to the ciga ette, may result in the exposure of a narrow white strip between the mouthpiece and the end of the cigarette. This, in the finer class of work, would result in the formation of a second, as it is desirable to have the ends of the tipping material flush with that of the cigarette. When the cigarette in the holder is ejected by the cigarette being fed thereto, the likelihood of the showing of so much white strip is increased, and, to adapt the machine to this condition of use, I provide an end gage, which will not only act as a stop, as each cigarette is fed to the holder, but will readjust the cigarette by a slight return movement which will always bring the end of the cigarette in the proper alinement with the strip being fed relative thereto to insure the front edge of said s rip being brought exactly flush with the end of the cigarette. If desired, the pusher-rod may be adjusted so as to insure a slight feeding movement of the cigarette to said holder in excess of that actually required to project the cigarette beyond said holder the width f the tip to be applied. v

In order to allow the proper clearance for the ejection of cigarettes from the holder, it is necessarythat the readjusting mechanism should normally be positioned out of alinement with the holder, and be brought into the proper position by a movement timed relative to that of the pusher-rod so as to act both as an end-gage to check the forward movement of the cigarette, as it is fed to said holder, and to impart to it a return movement coincident with the withdrawal of the pusher-rod. With this end in view, I mount in the end-gage 9 described in my said Letters-Patent, a headed stud 20, normally held flush with the inner face of said gage by means of the spring 21. Mounted on a stud 22 carried by the frame of the machine below said holder, is a lever having a slot 2% therein engaging said stud 22, the upper end of which lever is alined with the stud 20. Mounted on said machine is a bell crank lever 25, one arm of which is pivotally connected to said lever 23, and the other arm of which is provided with a roller 26 adapted to engage a face cam 27 carried by the main shaft of the machine above the shaft upon which the cam B is mounted. It will thus be observed that witch each oscillation of the bell crank lever 25, the lever 23 will receive a simultaneous upward and oscillatory movement, the bell crank lever being so set that both arms are below the horizontal radius of the are described thereby. By spacing the upward end of the lever 23 slightly away from the stud 20 the extent of readjustment of the cigarette may be gaged. Inasmuch as the extent of movement of the upper end of the lever 23 will never exceed to g of an inch, it will readily be seen that a short engagement of said lever with said stud only is required. It will also be observed that the location of the cam 97 upon the same shaft as the cam B insures a timely actuation of the lever 23 relative to that of the pusher-rod C and avoids any variance through wear, lost motion or similar causes. Not only does the stud 20 accomplish the accurate positioning of the cigarette in the holder, but, when a rotary holder is employed, the withdrawal of said stud after such readjustment leaves the end of the cigarette perfectly free and thus avoids the disturbance of the exposed tobacco which would result were the end-gage fixed and in constant engagement with the cigarette. The cigarette having thus been accurately positioned, the next stage is the placing of the tip about the protruding end thereof. This mechanism is the same in most respects as that described in my aforesaid Letters-Patent, the wiper H having the same construction and mode of operation, and the vertically reciprocating carrier 91 having the same construction and mode of operation except that the plate 99 thereof is provided with studs 199 arranged on opposite sides of the forward edge thereof relative to the strip feeding mechanism, between which the strip is fed, and which serves to guide it as the holder is rotated after the section of strip has been severed from the continuous web. The shear mechanism E is the same as that described in my said Letters-Patent. The detailed construction of the reel D, paste-box G, and web carrier plate 75, and its actuating mechanism is also the same as described in said Letters-Patent. A detailed description of these various mechanisms will not be entered into, in order to avoid prolixity. l he pastepot mechanism, however, instead of being actuated by a chain drive, as in my aforesaid patent, is driven through a series of enchained gears 28, to avoid any lost motion through wear upon the chain or sprockets.

Pivotally mounted on the frame of the machine above the carrier is an oscillating lever one arm 29 of which is disposed above the slide 69, and adapted to be projected into thepath of the carrier 75 so as to engage the handle 79, and release the'fingers 78, and the other arm of which projects downwardly into engagement with a 581165,

of four tappets 31 on the shaft of the last gear 28. The forward end of the arm 29 is provided with a narrow plate 32. having a downwardly bent end adapted to engage the tween the plate 32 and the plate 99. The

last gear 28, being twice the diameter of the first of the train, will reciprocate the lever and the arm 29thereof twice to each wrap ping operation, two such actuations being desirable, in order to afford a backing to the cigarette, and hold the tip against a possible return movement with the carrier plate 75 when the forward end of the strip is applied to the cigarette and to afford such a backing to the cigarette when the wiper H forms the lap oint of the tipping material, thus not only insuring the'severance of a piece of tipping material of equal length with each reciprocation of the carrier 75,.

but preventing the wiper H from bendingor breaking the protruding end of the cigarette, in case an extra largecigarette should be in the holder. It will be observed that by this construction I provide an intermittently. operated backing plate adapted to engage the cigarette on the side thereof opposite to that operated upon by the wiper H, the means operating said backing plate, being so synchronized with the other mechanisms of the machine as to leave clearance for the insertion and ejection of the cigarettes from the holder. It will also be observed that the arm 29 of the backing lever, when the wiper first applies the end of the strip to the ciga rette, is in engagement with the handle 79 so that the fingers 7 S will be raised at this time and held uplifted untilthe portion of the end of the cigarettefor the tip has been severed from the strip and the arm 29 raised out of engagement therewith. -The remaining operations of the machine necessary to the application of the tip to the cigarette end are the same as described in my aforesaid Letters-Patent, no claim thereto being made in this application). and such will not be entered into. After the application of the tip to the cigarette, the completed tipped cigarette is ejected from the holder B by the next cigarette fed to said holder, the

wiper H, as described in my aforesaid pat-V out, being raised into engagement with the cigarette being discharged,-so as to minimize the momentum whichwould otherwise be imparted to the cigarette through the, speed of operation of the machine. The manner of ejection is such as to make itdifficult to collect the cigarettesin the ordinary: 7

box used on'the ordinary cigarette making machine, and, to avoid handling and re packing, I provide a special collecting mechanism, the essential featuresof which are a:

receiving box, means whereby the cigarettes are distributed within said box, and a pair of oppositely disposed converging pivoted plates, so balanced as to be opened by the weight of a cigarette at the adjacent ends thereof, so that each cigarette discharged" into the hopper formed'by said plates will be delivered in exactly the same position as every other cigarette.

Mounted on suitable brackets extending from the frame of the machine forwardly of the holder B is a box frame 33, open at the top and having the bottom thereof closed by one long. con'veyer-belt 34., and two short" conveyor-belts 35' and 36, which belts extend in parallel lines and run at equal. speed; These belts, atone endthereof, runabout the same or concentric pulleys of the same diameter. These'pulleys will be at' the end f of the box adjacent to the holder B. The belt 3% will, therefore, project into the other end of the box'with" a space between each side thereof and the sides of the box frame 33. This arrangement of belts is designed to impart an equal feeding movement to the cigarette throughout its entire length, and thus prevent any skewing of the cigarette through frictional engagement with a fixed surface, or the clogging of they conveying mechanismlb'y having cigarettes piled at one side of the belt. The belt 34 is extended beyond the others, in order that it may extend into an opening in the bottom of the collecting box 37 and deposit the cigarettes well within said box.

In conjunction with-theframe 33,1 employ a detachable collecting box 37 having abottom slotted throughout a portion of its length corresponding to the extent of projection'of the belt 34v beyond the bolts 35, 36. This box is provided withside hooks 38 adapted to pass over and engage the topof the; box-frame 33. It will be seen by reference to the drawings that. thevportions of the bottom of the box 37 on each side of thebelt 34 are, therefore, alined Withthe belts. 3o, 36, respectively, sothat the three belts 34, 35 and 36 will deliver the cigarettes to the box 37, and the middle belt'3t will pack 0r sta ck themin said box.

Mounted in '.the frame 33 adjacent to the holder 13 are the two plates 38, 39, which are pivoted in saidframe by means of the pivots or trunnions 4:0 and 41;, respectively. The.

topof each said plate is curved outwardly slightly and extended laterally to form con-. tact shoulders 42 and 43, respectively, and

the bulk; of metal. in the enlarged head' is such asj'to slightly overbalance each plate so, as to cause the lower ends thereof to automaticallyand-normally come into such close juxtaposition as not to permit a cigarette to pass therebetween. Leading from ELPOlIlt' adjacent to the holder 13 is a closed chute 44:

having a direction which will project cigav ing blocks 13 are brought successively into rettes ej'ected'from said holder upon one of the plates, as 39. The bulk of metal at the top of the plates, 38, 39, must be sufliciently great to sustain theweight of a cigarette upon either plate below the pivotal point, except at substantially the bottom thereof,

whereby the descent of the'cigarettes in the hopper formed by said plates willbe so retarded as to true up each cigarette so that when it approaches the bottom of the plates, itwill' oscillate the plates and be dropped thereby upon the belts 34, 35 and 36, whence it will be conveyed to thebox 37 The operation of the herein described machine is substantially as follows Cigarettes are placed'in the hopper A in a position parallelingthe holderB and the machine set in operation in the usual manner. The

belt '1 is then rotated toward'the holder B by the enchained gears 3, and the cylinder 6 is also rotated. through said gear system, the vanes 5 being rotated in the same direction as the cylinder 6 by the belt and pulley shown in the drawings. At the same time,

the plate 4 is oscillated through said pulley to'constantly lift the cigarettes in the hopper and prevent a clogging of the outlet through the jamming. of said cigarettes.

The lifting plate 4t,bein'g spaced away from r the belt- 1, permits the cigarettes to pass thereunder, the vanes 5 serving not only to true up cigarettes, but to permit only one at a time to pass from the belt 1 to the cylinder 6, and only in the position in which they are adapted to enter the pockets in said cylinder. Each cigarette, as it enters the pocket in'said cylinder, is carried over toward the: main 'conveyer belt 12, the flap 8 serving to liinitthe cigarettes, carried over to onein each pocket,- andthe flap 7 serving to hold the cigarette in said pocket and permit it to drop therefrom only when'the compartment formed by any two adjoining blocks 13 is directly beneath the discharge point .of s'ai'dcylinder 6. It will be observed that the operation of the mechanism feeding cigarettes to the belt 12 is synchronized with that of said belt", being geared to one of the tance between" the centers of the'compartments formed by the blocks 13 thereon. As the conveyer-belt 12 passes around the pulley 11, the compartments between succeedcontained in said compartment is delivered to the holder B by means of the pusher-rod C and 'said pusher-rod is withdrawn preparatory; to the delivery of the next cigarette from the belt 12 to the said holder. As the cigarette is being fed to the holder B, the carrier 92 is raised to position the end 94: and the stud 20, carried thereby, before said holder, in a manner to act as a positive stop to limit the extent of projection of said cigarette from the holder. This operation is simultaneous with the raising of the wiper H which acts as a retard by engaging the side of the cigarette. Substantially simultaneous with the reversal of the direc tionof movement of the pusher-rod C, the bell-crank lever 25 is oscillated by the cam 27 toraise the lever 23 upwardly and oscillate it toward the stud 20 in a manner to advance said'studtowardthe cigarette and cause said cigarette to follow the pusher-rod a slow movement until the cigarette is readjusted to the holder with the end projecting. only to the desired limited extent, which extent will be, uniform in all cigarettes, irrespective ofthe interval of engagement of the said stud 20 with the end of the cigarette. Instantly with the accomplishment of this readjustment, the lever 23 is restored to normal and the spring 21 allowed to restore the stud 20 to its former positioni The carrier 92 is then lowered to allow a: clear field for the positioning of the strip and preparatory to the wrapping op erations. As the cigarette is being adjusted to the holder, the carrier 7 5 is being slowly advanced toward said holder, drawing the continuous web from the reel D with it through the engagement of the fingers 73 with said strip, the strip being fed pasted side upward with one end thereof projecting forwardly of the said carrier 75. The strip end is fed between the shears E and positioned directly above the plate 99, with the projecting endof the strip projecting into the path of the wiper H, so that with the upward oscillation of said wiper, the forward end of the strip will be folded about and applied to one side of the cigarette and held by the wiper against the cigarette while the plate 75 is withdrawn preparatory tothe severing of the strip end by the shears E, the measuring of the next tipping section of the strip being accom- U plished by the-movement -of the-carrier 7 5 independently of and relatively to'the strip which is held stationary at this interval.

In the machine described in my aforesaid patent, I have found that in loosely packed or small cigarettes, the protruding end of the cigarette does not offer suflicient resistance to the wiper 104 of the mechanism H to secure a suilicient adhesion of the strip end thereto to overcome the slight drag of the fingers 78 on said strip, thus resulting in an occasional second through the failure ofgt he wrapping mechanism to applya tip to the cigarette end, or a slight slippage of the end of the strip, resulting in the absence of-the lap to the strip portion applied thereto. In

my present machine, as the carrier approaches the end of its feeding movement, the arm 29 will be raised against the tension of the spring 45 by one tappet 31 engaging the arm 30, thus elevating the downwardly turned plate 32 above'the plane of the holder 13. As the said carrier. 75 reaches the limit of its direct feeding movement, the

tappet 31 passes from its engagement with the arm 30 and permits the spring'45 to lower the arm 29 so that the end plate 32 will descend to a position where the forward face of said plate will engage the cigarette and the bottom edge thereof will press upon the strip, lightly clamping it upon the plate 99. The descent of the arm 29 Will, by engagement with the operating handles 79- of the fingers 78, raise said fingers out ofen- 'gagement withthe strip and hold themin the raised position. Asthe plate 32 is thus positioned, the wiper 104 of the mechanism H is raised and applies the end of the strip of tipping material to the side of the cigarette, the plate .32 not only preventing any slippage of the strip, but acting as a platen or backing to the cigarette to prevent the Qwiper bending or breaking same.' At this interval and preparatory to the rotation of the holder'B the carrier 7 5 recedes, upon its return movement, the arm 29, holdingthe fingers raised so as to preclude any POSSI- bility of the fingers 78 imparting any backward movement to the strip. While the fine points of these fingers would ordinarily preclude any such tendency, I have found that, after a long run,the tips of the fingers are apt to accumulate paste or glue, to an extent to cause them to have greater adherence than the merefifinger ends themselves -wo uld have, thus preventing the automatic disengagement of the fingers with the strip and causing the plate 75 to occasionally pull the strip back, as heretofore stated. The raising of the fingers obviates this difficulty, however, and as they are raised when the carrier 7 5 and the fingers 78 are close to the platen 99, this disengagement will not onlybe accomplished without 'disturbing the'strip' or throwing it out of alinement, but the location of the arm 29 will be such as-to permit the fingers to 'automati ccally reengage the tip when the carriage 7 5 has reached the limit of its return'movegment, irrespectiveof the position of said; arm.

As in the machine described-in my aforesaid patent, with the completion of the return movement of the carrier 7 5, the

shears E are actuated to sever the strip end while the strip is tensioned moreor less so. as to secure a straight edge, the point of the plate 32 serving to hold the strip, thus compensating for the absence of the tensioning effect "due to the return movement of the plate 7 5 and the engagement of the fingers.

78 with the strip. The end of the strip is severed substantially simultaneously with the engagement of the succeeding tappet 31 with the-arm 30, which engagement raises the end 32 out of engagement with the cigarette and the plate'99, leaving a clear field for the rotationof'the cigarette with the holder B- and the application of the severed end to the protruding end of the cigarette in the manner described in my aforesaid patent prior to the final lowering of the wiper 104 of the mechanism H, the oppositely disposed studs 199 guiding the severed end of the strip to cause it to be wound in perfect alinement upon the cigarette end. As described in my aforesaid LettersPatent, the holder B at the end of one complete rotation comes to complete rest preparatoryto the sealing'of the lap of the tip by the wiper 104 of the mechanism H, and, slightly in advance of the final descent of said wiper, the arm 30 will escape from the tappet 31 engaging same, and permit the plate 32 tov be again brought into engagement'with the sideof the cigarette to afford a backingthereto during the final wiping, or the seal be insuflicientto overcome the counterweights at the top thereof until it approaches the bottom of the adjoining plate, at which point the leverage will be sufficiently great to oscillate one or both of said plates and drop the cigarette therefrom in a line parallel with the'holder upon the collectingbelts 34, 35 and 36,"whereby it will be conveyed to the removable box 37 and deposited at the extreme end thereof not 00- cupied by the belt 34. The pawl and ratchet mechanism actuating the main belt 12 will become I operative immediately upon the withdrawal of. the pusher-rod C to; feedsaid ous other mechanisms, with the completion belt forward'the distance between the centers of the compartments formed by the blocks 18 and simultaneously deliver a cigarette to the next succeeding compartment adjacent to the hopper A, by the delivering mechanism of said hopper, as heretofore described.

The foregoing operations are repeated with great rapidity and the box 37 will be gradually filled with cigarettes. When so filled, it is removed and another substituted in its stead, the cigarettes in the box 37 being in a position where they can be either conveniently handled for packing direct from the box or deposited in another box provided for the purpose without handling the individual cigarettes.

By the improvements herein described, I aim merely to overcome those limitations placed upon the machine in my aforesaid patent by the conditions due to extended runs and unskilled labor, the actual operations by which the tip is applied to the cigarette being substantially the same as in my said patent, and the efiiciency of the machine in this respect not being enhanced by the improvement. I have found that in my said machine, the percentage of seconds in a days run will vary from perfect work to from three to five per cent, and that most of said seconds are due to the improper feeding of the cigarettes to the holder and the imperfections in the cigarettes themselves, the machine having been incapable of automatically adjusting itself to such variances. By my said improvements, I not only materially reduce the number of seconds, but provide a machine requiring less attention from the operator, such attention being limited to the necessity for turning the cigarettes to position the monograms or the seams uniformly on the belt 12 so as to cause the overlap or lap to be uniform on all cigarettes tipped.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construction of the improvements shown in the accompanying drawings, such being capable of variation without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to have protected by Letters-Patent is:

1. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of a hopper adapted to store cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon, adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from said hopper to said holder, means whereby the cigarettes are delivered one at a time from said hopper to said compartments successively, a delivery mechanism whereby cigarettes are transferred from the compartments of said belt to said holder successively, and means intermittently actuating said conveyer-belt whereby said belt is held stationary during the transfer of the cigarettes therefrom to said holder.

2. In a cigarette machine, the combina tion with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of an open bottom hopper adapted to store the cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from below said hopper to said holder, a conveyer belt closing a portion of the bottom of said hopper and leaving an outlet there from, a delivery mechanism arranged in said outlet whereby cigarettes will be properly positioned, and delivered one at a time to the compartments of said first mentioned belt, means intermittently and simultaneously actuating said conveyer belts, respectively, and said delivery mechanism whereby said first mentioned belt will be held stationary while cigarettes are being transferred therefrom to said holder, and said last mentioned belt and said delivery mechanism will deliver said cigarettes to said compartments one at a time, and a delivery mechanism for transferring cigarettes from the compartments of said belt to said holder while said first mentioned belt is held stationary.

3. In a cigarette machine, the combina tion with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of an open bottom hopper adapted to store the cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from below said hopper to said holder, a conveyer belt closing a portion of the bottom of said hopper and leaving an outlet therefrom, an oscillating plate extending to a point adjacent to said belt within said hopper whereby the piling of cigarettes adiacent to said outlet is prevented, and a delivery mechanism adapted to receive cigarettes as they pass said plate, true them up, and drop them successively into said compartments of said first mentioned belt, means intermittently and simultaneously actuating said conveyer belts, respectively, and said delivery mechanism whereby said first mentioned belt will be held stationary while cigarettes are being transferred therefrom to said holder, and said last mentioned belt and said delivery mechanism will deliver said cigarettes to said compartments one at a time, and a delivery mechanism for transferring cigarettes from the compartments of said belt to said holder while said first mentioned belt is held stationary.

4. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of an open bottom hopper adapted to store the cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from below said hopper to said holder, a conveyer belt closing a portion of the bottom of said hopper and leaving an outlet therefrom, an oscillating plate extending to a point adjacent to said belt within said hopper whereby the piling of cigarettes adjacent to said outlet is prevented, and a delivery mechanism compris-q ing a cylinder having pockets therein adapted to receive cigarettes from the hopper belt, and deposit them in the compartments of said first mentioned conveyer belt, and

means positioning and retaining the cigarettes in said pockets preparatory to their discharge therefrom, means intermittently and simultaneously actuating said conveyer belts,,respectively, and said delivery mecha nism whereby said first mentioned belt will be held stationary while cigarettes are being transferred therefrom to said holder, and said last mentioned belt and said delivery mechanism will deliver said cigarettes to said compartments one at a time, and a de livery mechanism for transferring cigarettes from the compartments of said belt to said holder while said first mentioned belt is held stationary.

5. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of an open bottom hopper adapted to store the cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from below said hopper to said holder, a conveyer belt closing a portion of the bottom of said hopper and leaving an outlet therefrom, an oscillating plate extending to a point adjacent to said belt within said hopper whereby the piling of cigarettesadjacent to said outlet is prevented, and adelivery mechanism comprising a cylinder having pockets therein adapted to receive cigarettes from the hopper belt, and deposit them in the compartments of said first mentioned conveyer belt, a wheel having a plurality of curved vanes spaced above said hopper conveyer for-t wardly of said cylinder whereby more than one cigarette at a time is prevented from entering the pockets in said cylinder, and a plurality of weighted 'flaps disposed about the periphery of said cylinder whereby the cigarettes are accurately positioned in said pockets and retained therein to a point adj a cent to the point of discharge of the cigarette from said pockets, meansintermittently and simultaneously actuating said conveyer belts, respectively, and said delivery mechanism whereby'said first mentioned belt will be held stationary while cigarettes are being transferred therefrom to said holder, and

said last mentioned belt and said delivery mechanism will deliver said cigarettes to said compartments one at a time, and a delivery mechanism for transferring cigarettes from the compartments of said belt to said holder while said first mentioned belt is held stationary.

6. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby'said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including therein a holder, of a conveyer belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, a plate adj acent to said holder extending parallel to said conveyer belt whereby cigarettes are retained therein when approaching said holder and when alined therewith, a delivery mechanism whereby cigarettes are transferred from the compartments of said belt to said holder successively, and means intermittently actuating said conveyer-belt whereby said belt is held stationary during the transfer of the cigarettes therefrom to said holder.

7. In a cigarette machine, the combination with afeeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means applying a portion of adhesive strip to the end of a cigarette, including'therein a holder, of a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, 'a hopper adapted to store cigarettes to be tipped, said I belt extending from said hopper to said holder, means whereby the cigarettes are delivered one at a time from said hopper to said compartments successively, a delivery mechanism whereby cigarettes are transferred from the compartments of saidbelt to said holder successively, means intermittently actuating said conveyer belt whereby said belt is held stationary during the trans fer of the cigarettes therefromto said holder,

means intermittently rotating said holder, and means actuating said wrapping mechanism simultaneously with the actuation of said conveyer belt whereby cigarettes will be delivered to said belt and the succeeding compartment of said belt will be alined with said holder while said wrapping mechanism is tipping the cigarette delivered from the preceding compartment.

8. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a holder, means whereby cigarettes are alined with said holder, a pusher rod adapted to transfer cigarettes from said means to said holder, a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and means in conjunction with said holder whereby a portion of strip is wrapped about the end of a cigarette, including therein a vertically reciprocated plate having an end gage, a reciprocating stud mounted in said gage and a spring normally forcing said stud away from said holder, of a lever having a vertical and an oscillatory movement adapted to be alined with said stud, and means actuating said lever whereby said lever will be below said holder as the cigarettes are ejected therefrom and each cigarette, as said plunger recedes, will be caused to follow said plunger to a limited extent to true up the cigarettes in said holder prior to the actuation of said wrapping mechanism.

9. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a holder and means whereby cigarettes are successively delivered thereto and ejected therefrom, of means whereby a strip of tipping material is fed relative to the forward end of said holder including therein a reciprocating plate and a clutch thereon adapted to engage the strip, means making said strip adhesive, a wiper adapted to apply the ends of said strip to a cigarette, means adapted to release said clutch whereby said strip is relieved from strains during the return movement of said plate, means adapted to sever a portion of the end of said strip, and means adapted to apply said severed portion to the cigarette.

10. In a cigarette machine, a wrapping mechanism including therein an oscillating wiper adapted to apply one end of the tipping material to the cigarette, and a plate adapted to engage and form a backing for the cigarette opposite said wiper.

11. In a cigarette machine, a wrapping mechanism including therein an oscillating wiper adapted to apply one end of a strip of tipping material to the cigarette, and a vertically reciprocating plate adapted to bring the strip close to the cigarette, a strip feeding mechanism including therein a reciprocating plate having a clutch thereon adapted to engage the strip, means adapted to simultaneously clamp the strip upon said Vertically reciprocating plate, release said clutch, and engage and form a backing for the cigarette whereby said feeding plate may be withdrawn without placing strains upon the tip, and said strip end may be applied to the cigarette without mutilating it, means making the strip adhesive, and means whereby a portion of the end of the strip is severed.

12. In a cigarette machine, a wrapping mechanism including therein an oscillating wiper adapted to apply one end of a strip of tipping material to the cigarette, and a plate positioned below the cigarette end, a strip feeding mechanism including therein a reciprocating plate having a clutch thereon adapted to engage the strip, the upper jaw of said clutch having an upwardly extended tongue whereby it may be raised, an oscillatory arm above said plate adapted to engage said tongue, said arm carrying a plate adapted to be brought into engagement with the cigarette, and with the strip on said first mentioned plate, and means whereby said arm will be reciprocated twice during each wrapping operation to release said clutch, and engage and form a backing for the cigarette each time said wiper applies an end of the tipping material thereto.

13. In a cigarette machine, the combination with means whereby a tip is placed upon the end of a cigarette, of a collecting mechanism comprising a frame, a plurality of parallel conveyer belts mounted therein, means driving said belts at uniform speed, a box mounted on said frame with its bottom in substantial alinement with said belts, said box being open at the end adjacent to said belts, and a hopper adapted to receive finished cigarettes, true them up and automatically open and deposit them upon said belts.

14. In a cigarette machine, the combination with means whereby a tip is placed upon the end of a cigarette, of a collecting mechanism comprising a frame, a plurality of parallel conveyer belts mounted therein, one of said belts being longer than the others, means driving said belts at uniform speed, a box mounted on said frame with its bottom in substantial alinement with said belts, said box being open at the end adjacent to the short belts and having a slotted bottom adapted to pass over the longer belt, and a hopper adapted to receive finished cigarettes, true them up, and automatically open and deposit them upon said belts.

15. In a cigarette machine, the combination with means whereby a tip is placed upon the end of a cigarette, of a collecting mechanism comprising a frame, a collecting belt and a collecting box into which said belt discharges carried thereby, and a hopper discharging upon said belt comprising a plurality of oppositely disposed conveying pivotal plates so balanced as to be opened by the weight of a cigarette on the adjacent ends thereof, whereby said hopper will be automatically opened by the weight of the cigarette to deposit each cigarette upon said belt and closed.

16. In a cigarette machine, the combination with means whereby a tip is placed upon the end of a cigarette, of a collecting mechanism comprising a frame, collecting belts and a collecting box into which said belts discharge carried thereby, and a hopper discharging upon said belts comprising a plurality of converging pivotal plates, having an excess of weight and a stop shoulder above the pivot, whereby said hopper will automatically close, and be automatically opened by the weight of the'cigarette to deposit each cigarette upon said belt.

17. In a cigarette machine, the combination with a feeding mechanism for the tipping material, means whereby said material is made adhesive, and a wrapping mechanism, of a holder, an open bottom hopper adapted to store the cigarettes to be tipped, a conveying belt having a plurality of compartments formed thereon adapted to be successively alined with said holder, said belt extending from below said hopper to said holder, a conveyer belt closing a portion of the bottom of said hopper and leaving an outlet therefrom, and a delivery mechanism comprising a cylinder having pockets therein adapted to receive cigarettes from the hopper belt, and deposit them in the compartments of said first mentioned conveyer belt, rotary means spaced above said hopper conveyer belt forwardly of said cylinder whereby more than one cigarette at a time is prevented from entering the pockets in said cylinder, and a plurality of yielding obstructions disposed about the periphery of said cylinder whereby the cigarettes are accurately positioned in said pockets and retained therein to a point adjacent to the point of discharge of the cigarette from said pockets, means intermittently and simultaneously actuating said conveyer belts, respectivelv, and delivery mechanism whereby said first mentioned belt will be held stationary while cigarettes are being transferred therefrom to said holder, and said last the forward end of said holder, and a collecting mechanism comprising a frame, collecting belts and a collecting box into which said belts discharge carried thereby, and a hopper discharging upon said belts comprising a plurality of oppositely disposed conveying pivotal plates so balanced as to be opened by the weight of a cigarette on the adjacent ends thereof, whereby said hopper will be automatically opened by the weight of the cigarette to deposit each cigarette upon said belt and closed.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature this'6th day of October, 1908, in the presence of two witnesses.

SALVADOR RAGONA.

Witnesses:

GEORGE MCCAY,

E. A. ALLEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). C. 

